Dissertations are unpublished documents written on a very narrow topic at the highest level of an academic discipline. For this reason they can be particularly difficult to work with. If you are in the process of writing your own thesis or dissertation, they are especially useful for shedding light on the most recent developments in your field. Literature reviews can often be found in a dissertation's first chapter can also help to orient you to more general analytical and theoretical patterns evident in your field's overall development.
